Metering panel-board.



H. A. ROBINSON.

METERING PANEL BOARD. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18.11903.

Patented June 14,1910.

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METERING PANEL BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED JAILIB, 1908. 961,464. Patented June 14, 1910.

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METERING PANEL BOARD. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18, 1908. 961,464. Patented June 14,1910.

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HARRY A. ROBINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINUIS.

METERING PANEL-BOARD.

Specification of Letter! Patent. Patented June '14, 1910.

Application filed January 18, 1908. Serial No. 11,389.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY A. Ronmson, a of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Metering Panel- Boards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metering anel boards of the class now in quite enera use throughout the United States, w ereby the load in any particular room or other part of a building'may be switched onto any one of several'meters for measuring the amount of electric current consumed in that particular room. anel boards are usually installed in relatively small closets or cabinets, any means for saving space is of vital im ortance.

he invention consists'in a anel board which can be-easily and cheaply built, installed in compact space'and which is conveniently'eflicient in operation and not readily liable to t out of order. 7

The invention more specificall consists in the use between the meter an load cirsuits of the device of a plurality of relatively wide bus bars, ereby of large capacity, placed side by side insulated from each other in combination with a bridge piece capable of be of the bus bars, said ridge dpiece being adjustably connected to an a jacent binding The invention further consists in means for insulating successive bus bars, so that there is no arcing between them and in other details of construction which will be hereofFig: 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is aperspective detail view 0 a bridge after Fig: 6 is a etail view throughout the entire board'on the line 6-6 connected to any one jsuitably supported onthe board 'ece here-- Referring again to Fig. 1 the entire device is mounte upon a board 10 of slate or other suitable insulating. material such as is ordinarily used in boards of this class. Upon the lower or other convenient portion of the board is located the main feed switch 11 having the branches 12, 13 and 14 to which are connected the main circuit wires leading to the mechanism, the device here shown being on a three wire circuit but it may be used just as well on a two wire circuit. Mounted upon the board are a plurality of fuses 16 and switches 17 leading off in the usual manner to. the load circuits 18 whose consumption of power is to be measured in the meters 20.- These are arranged in approximately equal sized groups: in the particular case here illustrated five circuits on each side of the board. One side of each switch 17 and consumption circuit 18 is as shown connected by the conductor 25 to the central'branch 13 of the main feed switch. The other side of the consumption circuit is connected by means of a suitable plate or block 2-6 to a suitable st or other connecting member 27. As 18 shown the consum tron circuits located on opposite sides of t aboard and their corresponding posts 27 are located in two vertical rows a jacent to the center of the board.

Between the two rows of posts 27 are two groups of vertically extending bus bars each comprising five bars 30, 31 32, 33 and 34 one for each meter to .be hereafter described.

The grouping of the busbars in two parts is. of course a matter of desi forming no partof the invention. These us bars are as shown placed on edge so that their narrowbus bars thus insulated from each other are means of the angle members 4 0 an the bolts or screws 41, although this specific form of construction is no'tessential to the invention. Each {post 27 is provided with a bridgepiece 45 as shown with one end afi' adapted to be selectively fitted in between the insulating members 37 and into contact with the interveni ng bus bar adapted to be moved by est faces are-upward andthey therefore .occupy as little space as possible across the board. .They are insulated from each other by insulating material 37. The groups of prover by hand out of contact with that particular bus bar and into contact with another busbar.

Each bridge piece contains a slot 47 as shown through which the upper screw threaded portion 48 of the 'post 27 asses. This slot 47 is so shaped that the ridge piece may be moved backward or forward horizontally over the post 27 as the angular end 46 of the bridge piece is moved into contact with any desired bar or group of bus bars to which it belongs. The brldge piece bears upon a nut or other enlargement upon the post 27 and is detachably secured in position thereon by a nut or other equ1valent member 51. In the operation of this part of the device the nut 51 is loosened partially and the bridge piece 45 is lifted suiticiently so that its end 46 is removed from contact with a particular busbar and out from between the insulating members adjacent to it. The bridge piece is then moved horizontally until the end 46 is over the next bus bar to which it is to be connected. The bridge piece is then lowered until the end 46 is in contact with said bus bar and the nut 51 is tightened in position. This tightening forces the bridge piece into good electrical contact with the particular bus bar and secures it in good contact with the post to which it is connected with the result that there is a good electrical connection between the selected bus bar and the particular post to which the bridge piece is connected withthe result that that. particular bus bar is electrically'connected to theblock 26 and to the particular fuse 16, switch 17 and consumption circuit 18 which it is desired to connect with the desired bus bar to which the bridge piece is connected.

The bus bars as shown extend up the board and those belonging to the consump tion circuits on the right hand side of the board are preferably angularl .turned to the right and those on the le t hand side of the board are preferably angularly turned to the left though manifestly these turns may 'be omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention. At the upper portion of the board thus constructed there are placed a group of.meters 20 to be used in measuring the amount of current consumed in the various consumption circuits. There are here .shown as many meters as consumption circuits but in-practice only as many meters are used as it is thought there will be parties desiring to independ ently pay for power, while many such parties will ordinarily use several consumption circuits, with the result necessarily that there are more consum tion circuits than meter circuits. One sidi; of each meter is as shown connected to a suitable binding post or connecting member 55 suitably material between beyond their edges,

' jacent terminal,- and means mounted upon the board 10, each of said posts being connected by the clip mechanism 56 to the fuse 57 which in turn passes through the board 10. One half of these fuses 57 are connected to the conductor 58, while the other half of the fuses 57 are connected to corresponding conductor 59. The bar 58 is connected to one side as 14 of the switch 11 and the other bar 59 is connected to the other'side as 12 of the switch 11. As the consumption circuits are connected by the wires 25 to the central branch of the switch 11 it readily appears that the meters are on two sides of the consumption circuit or in other words that the device is connected up for a three wire system of'the ordinaggy type. a

The opposite side-of each of the meters 20 which is not connected to a fuse 57 heretofore described is connected by a conductor 61 to a suitable block or bridge piece .62, very much like the bridge iece 45 heretofore described and adapte to be adjustably placed in contact with the upper portions of different bus bars in the manner shown in Fi 4 very much in the same manner'that t e bridge piece 45 is connected to the other bus bars 56 as heretofore described. In practice however, the adjustments are preferably made with the bridge pieces 45.

What I claim as new by Letters Patent,is:

1. In a metering panel board, a plurality of bus bars placed side by side and insulated from each other, an adjacent terminal, a slotted bridge piece adapted to connect said terminal to any one of ada ted to pass through the slot in said bri ge piece and adjustably secure said bridge piece to said terminal.

2. In a metering panel board, a plurality of bus bars placed side b side and insulated from' each other, an a jacent terminal, a-

bridge piece slotted in its portion adjacent to said terminal to fit over said terminal, means for detachably connecting said bridge piece-to said terminal, and means for detachably securing the op osite end portion of said bridge piece in se ected engagement with anydesired adjacent bus bar. I 3. In ameterin panel board, a. plurality of bus bars place side by side, insulating the bus bars extending a bridge piece having one end adapted to'go in between two adjacent projecting pieces of insulating material and connect with a selected bus bar, an adfor ad uStabl securing said bridge piece tosaid termina' In a. metering panel board, a set df parallel bus bars, pieces, of insulating .inaterial between said bars rising to a greater said busbars, and a pin heiiht than seid bus bars a terminal located In witness whereof, I have hereunto subat t e side of said bus bars, and a rigid conscribed my name in the presence of two ducto'r bar adjustably secured to said terwitnesses,

mm and. having its and bent downward HARRY A. ROBINSON. '5' so" as to pass down between said pieces of v Witnesses:

insulatin materialto reach and contact the I DWIGHT B. OHEEVER,

difi'erent us bars as selected. C. J. CHRIBTOFFEL. 

